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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25337590">Putting his foot down</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocolateAndRedbull/pseuds/ChocolateAndRedbull'>ChocolateAndRedbull</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>BAMF Helen Cho, Gen, Harley Keener Needs a Hug, Harley Keener is a sweetheart, Hurt Harley, Hurt Harley Keener, Nervous Harley Keener, Parent Tony Stark, Protective Tony Stark, Sick Character, Sick Harley Keener, Sickfic, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 05:34:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,305</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25337590</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocolateAndRedbull/pseuds/ChocolateAndRedbull</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony wishes the kid would just come out and say what’s on his mind.</p><p>Or </p><p>Harley Keener tries to word a relatively simple question in a way that won’t give Tony a heart attack.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Harley Keener &amp; Tony Stark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>135</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Putting his foot down</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tony could tell something was up with the kid.</p><p>He’d been distracted and fidgety all afternoon and every time he thought the boy might just come out and say what was on his mind he chickened out at the last second and disguised it with a fake sounding cough. </p><p>Tony had taken to watching him out of the corner of his eye for the last hour until finally Harley screwed his eyes shut, kicked his fidgeting foot into the floor, and took a deep breath.</p><p>“Tony?”</p><p>
  <em>There it was.</em>
</p><p>“Yeah, kid?” Tony responded as nonchalantly as possible, not looking up from his suit helmet.</p><p>“Um. Can I- uh. Who-? Um.” He laughed nervously, his eyes screwing shut as he collected himself. </p><p>“I’m gonna ask you a question and you’re not gonna freak out until I explain that it’s really not that bad. It’s nothing really, I shouldn’t even be bothering you about it, it’s just... um yeah,” Harley rambled. </p><p>Tony looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Everything alright, kid?”</p><p>“Yeah. Yes. Definitely, everything is fine. I just- um, who- uh, who would I go to- now that I’m living with you- um. Like, I had my family doctor back in Tennessee. I was just wondering, uh, who would I go to while I’m, um, here,” Harley stumbled out.</p><p>Tony tried to calm the panic in his chest. “You need a doctor?”</p><p>Harley chewed on his lip sheepishly. “You said you wouldn’t freak out.”</p><p>“I said no such thing, you asked me to and I never agreed,” Tony pointed out. “Why do you need a doctor?” he pressed, thoughts running wild. </p><p>Had he really been sitting here waiting for the kid to find the courage to speak up when he knew he was uncomfortable to begin with? Had he really stifled a smirk every time the kid got close but couldn’t find his words? Oh god, he was a terrible guardian.</p><p>“Tony! It’s fine, it’s nothing really it’s just a, um...” Tony’s eyes narrowed as the kid began to blush. </p><p>“It’s just a little, um, rash?”</p><p>Harley’s eyes widened as he seemed to catch what that implied. “N-Not like that! Not down there!” he scrambled, glancing down at his own jeans. “It’s um, it’s on my foot! Uh, but it’s not- um, it’s not Athletes Foot. I had that before and this, this isn’t, uh, that,” Harley seemed to relax slightly now that the truth had come out.</p><p>Tony had to take a breath to recover from that rollercoaster.</p><p>Harley’s eyes were glued to his right shoe. “It’s fine, really, it doesn’t even hurt, or anything, it just- just <em>really</em> itches.”</p><p>Tony took a second to clear his head before standing up and rinsing his hands off in the sink. </p><p>“Let’s go, kid,” he said, nodding towards the door.</p><p>Harley stares at him dumbly. “Where- uh, where are we going?”</p><p>Surely he wasn’t being punished? He shouldn’t have opened his mouth. Oh god, he’s being sent back to Tennessee.</p><p>Tony rolled his eyes at the kid’s nervousness.</p><p>“Relax, buddy, we’re going downstairs to see Dr Cho.”</p>
<hr/><p>Next thing he knew, Harley found himself sitting on a hospital style cot with his shoes and socks off, his chin resting on his knees as Tony and Dr Cho peered at his foot.</p><p>Tony frowned at the angry red splotches across the joints where the kid’s toes began and down the outside of his foot. </p><p>“It’s really not that bad, Tony, it doesn’t hurt or anything,” he mumbled.</p><p>Tony ignored him as he looked to Dr Cho, who peered up at Harley kindly.</p><p>“When did this start, sweetie?”  </p><p>Harley was surprised to find her so nice. He knew she was the woman who, without her, Vision wouldn’t be possible. </p><p>And now she was looking at his gross foot.</p><p>“Um, a few weeks ago? I think?” he shrunk under Tony’s look that said ‘<em>and you didn’t think to tell me sooner?’</em></p><p>“Uh, it started, like, here,” he pointed to where his second toe joined his foot, “and then it kinda spread a-all across the toes, and down the side.”</p><p>He felt like he should stop but Dr Cho looked at him encouragingly. </p><p>“Um, I put some lotion on it, like every morning and at night, and that was helping it for a while. I thought it might just be, like, dry skin or something. But then that stopped working,” he mumbled sheepishly.</p><p>“It just, uh, it itches real bad, and I know it looks kinda gross. So I was kinda worried,” he caught himself. “Well not worried! More, um, I don’t know...” he trailed off, burying his face in his knees.</p><p>Tony’s heart went out to the boy. He moved from his chair beside Cho to sit beside Harley on the bed, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, ignoring how he tensed up slightly. </p><p>“Buddy, you know I’m not mad at you for not mentioning it sooner, right?”</p><p>Harley just groaned. “I just- we’re sitting here in a SHIELD Medbay that was built for actual real life superhero’s and we’re looking at my jacked up foot.”</p><p>Dr Cho just laughed. “Sweetie, yes, I stitch up Iron Man, and Hawkeye, and Captain America on a regular basis, but do you know how many times Tony Stark has come to my door looking for aspirin for a hangover? I pulled over 40 splinters out of Clint Barton’s butt when he fell through the ceiling trying to scare Natasha, and I’ve mopped up Steve Rogers’ broken nose after a game of Mario Kart where the stakes were a little too high.” With that she gave Tony a pointed look. </p><p>Tony just shrugged. “He pushed my arm and I stand by that.”</p><p>Harley stifled a laugh into his knees.  “Nothing’s too big or too small, I’m still a doctor to these idiots,” she nodded towards Tony, “so I have no problem with whatever you need as well.”</p><p>“You’re fired,” he said bluntly. </p><p>“That’s not up to you,” she said with a knowing smile.</p><p>Harley smiled, absentmindedly reaching down to scratch at his foot.  </p><p>“Ah-ah, quit it, kid. No scratching,” Tony announced, pulling the boy’s hand away. </p><p>Harley squirmed on the cot. “It <em>itches</em>, Tony,” he whined.</p><p>“Is this what all the fidgeting has been about the past few days?” he asked. “I thought you were getting bored of me.”</p><p>Harley wiggled his toes. “Oh no, that happened ages ago,” he said nonchalantly.</p><p>Tony looked to Dr Cho. “Which of these drawers has the itching powder? That’ll help the little runt, right?”</p><p>Harley couldn’t stop his laughter as Tony began opening cupboard doors, rifling through their contents.</p><p>Dr Cho just shook her head fondly, before handing Harley a tube of ointment. “It looks like a heat rash, your foot just needs to breathe a bit. Try and keep your shoes and socks off as much as possible for a while. Apply this three times a day until it starts to clear up, and come back down to see me in a week, sound good?”</p><p>Harley nodded, eyes skimming over the writing on the tube. </p><p>“No bare feet in my lab,” Tony stated as he continued to rifle through the cupboards. </p><p>“You’re not wearing shoes right now,” Harley pointed out.</p><p>Tony glared down to see his own socked feet staring back at him, before turning back to the drawer he was rooting in. “Couldn’t get a word out of the kid all morning but suddenly he’s all talk,” he muttered.</p><p>Harley couldn’t help but laugh as he chucked the tube of ointment at the man, who recoiled dramatically.</p><p>“Smells like your gross feet!”</p><p>Harley scoffed. “I’ve not even opened it yet!” </p><p>“Well then it’s just you I’m smelling,” Tony shot back playfully.</p><p>“Alright, that’s enough,” Dr Cho announced with a laugh. “Both of you, out.”</p>
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